Harry Potter and the Grey Side of Magic
by Silvana Evenstar
Summary: Begins during summer after Harry's third year and contains spoilers for years 4&5, disregards books 6&7. Dark, but not evil, powerful, political HP; adopted Mione; very jealous Ron; self-confident Neville; fake prophecy, sane Voldy, manipulative Dumbles.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note:** Now this one just came to me while I was trying to figure out just how to write the first chapter of 'The Curse gone wrong', so I figured I would write it down as well... =)

**Warning:** will contain slash, though there most definitely WON'T be any mpreg; will surely have a healthy dose of Dumbledore bashing and some Molly, Ron and Ginny bashing.

**Summary:** Begins during summer after Harry's third year and contains spoilers for years 4 and 5, disregards books 6 and 7. Dark, but not evil, powerful, political Harry; adopted Hermione; extremely jealous Ron; self-confident Neville; fake prophecy, sane Voldemort, manipulative Dumbledore;

**Pairings:** Draco/Hermione; Blaize/Neville; Charlie/Tonks; Bill/Fleur...

["blah" - normal speech;

_'blah'_ - thoughts;

::blah:: - mental communication;

**~blah~** - parseltongue;

{blah} - letters, howlers and so on;]

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER IN ANY SHAPE OR FORM! ... though I would certainly like to =)**

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><p><strong>Prologue.<strong>

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><p><span>[summer 1993. Privet Drive, 4]<span>

For any normal child summer would be the favorite part of the year, but for Harry Potter it was most definitely the opposite. Why was that? Well... it actually had absolutely nothing with the boy not liking summer and pretty much everything with his revolting relatives - the Dursley family, namely his uncle Vernon and cousin Dudley. There was also aunt Petunia, who was his dead mother's older sister, but she tended to mainly ignore Harry all together. As far as Petunia Dursley was concerned, there was no such person as Harry Potter at Privet Drive, 4.

Currently the mentioned Mr. Potter was busy pulling the weeds from the garden and desperately wishing for some miracle to happen that would get him away from the horrid muggles. Mechanically pulling out yet another weed he cursed his inability to use magic during summer. It was totally unfair, since he knew full well that all of his classmates who had magical relatives could practice their magic all they wanted and he, the one who actually needed magic to defend himself from Dudley's favorite game known as 'Harry Hunting' or the occasional hit by his drunk uncle, or his visiting sister.

"Darn it!" - he muttered under his breath as he pricked his thumb on one of the rose thorns.

_'I should really try and get better acquainted with the Minister... maybe then I could talk him into giving me permission to use magic during summer... That would teach those blasted muggles a lesson...'_ - at that thought his lips stretched into a please smile, as he imagined turning his uncle into barbecue. Finally the last weed was pulled out and the kid went back to his room.

The room Harry lived in during his stays at Privet Drive was the smallest one in the house, but even it was much more comfortable than the cupboard under the stairs he occupied for the first ten years of his life. Potter threw himself on the bed and winced as it creaked dangerously.

_'Merlin, why do I have to live like this? I do have quite a lot of money in my vault. I'm pretty sure I could at the very least afford to buy myself a nice bed...'_ - he contemplated, as he watched his owl Hedwig clean her feathers - _'Then again, if I do buy myself new things the Dursleys will be sure to notice... and again it all comes to me being unable to do magic during summer... Hmm... Now that I think about it, I should really read more about the Wizarding World... I'm the Boy-Who-Lived for Merlin's sake, I should get at least something out of it...' _The idea of using his fame to get his way didn't exactly appeal to Harry, but it looked like he really had no other choice.

**[***]**

Petunia Dursley hung up the phone and made an irritated groan. Marge coming together with a child was not something she expected, but there was no way out of it. She glanced at her son, who was once again playing video games and rolled her eyes - Dudley would most certainly be of no help and Vernon was out of town for the week on a golf trip with his boss and their potential new partner. That only left Harry. That idea was a good one. She glanced out of the window into the yard and did not see Harry there, which meant that the boy was already finished with the weeding. It was quite hot outside, so she poured a glass of orange juice and made a sandwich for her nephew. Mrs. Dursley then made her way upstairs to Harry's room.

"Harry, here's your lunch." - she said simply, putting the tray on the table.

The boy, who was stretched out on the bed almost jumped off the bed when his aunt came in and stared at her with a confused expression on his face:

"M-my lunch?" - he repeated after her in slight bewilderment.

Petunia chuckled lightly and nodded:

"Yes, lunch. Since Vernon is out of town for the week, I can afford to give my nephew some snacks for all the hard work that's forced on you." She smiled as the boy got up and went to eat the food with a smile on his face, a smile that was decidedly his mother's.

"Thank you, aunt Petunia." - he murmured, as he finished the sandwich.

"Now then, as much as I really dislike the woman, Marge is coming at the end of the month and is bringing along a daughter of some of her friends with her." - spoke Petunia, when Harry put down the now empty glass - "Therefore we need a room for the girl."

This made Harry stare at the woman in something akin to horror, so she hurried on:

"That means that you will have to clean up the attic. It is much bigger than this room and there are a lot of unused things there. Anything you can salvage you can keep."

Potter mentally sighed in relief at the news - he would not be forced back into the cupboard:

"When should I begin?" - he asked, seeing no reason to postpone the inevitable.

"As soon as possible." - replied his aunt - "I will unlock the cupboard and you can put your trunk there, just make sure Vernon doesn't see it. I'll say I needed the space and threw it out. I am also pretty sure there should be some things that belonged to Lily at the attic."

With that she left her nephew alone and went to try and talk some sense into her son.

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> So then, this is it for now. Make sure to leave a **REVIEW** and let me know what you think of it... =)


	2. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** And here is the first chapter. For some reason it just comes to me much easier than the other one =)

**Warning:** will contain slash, though there most definitely WON'T be any mpreg; will surely have a healthy dose of Dumbledore bashing and some Molly, Ron and Ginny bashing.

**Summary:** Begins during summer after Harry's third year and contains spoilers for years 4 and 5, disregards books 6 and 7. Dark, but not evil, powerful, political Harry; adopted Hermione; extremely jealous Ron; self-confident Neville; fake prophecy, sane Voldemort, manipulative Dumbledore, nice Petunia;

**Pairings:** Draco/Hermione; Blaise/Neville; Charlie/Tonks; Bill/Fleur...

["blah" - normal speech;

_'blah'_ - thoughts;

::blah:: - mental communication;

**~blah~** - parseltongue;

{blah} - letters, howlers and so on;]

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER IN ANY SHAPE OR FORM! ... though I would certainly like to =)**

* * *

><p><strong><em>(previously on the 'HP and the Grey side of Magic') <em>**

"When should I begin?" - he asked, seeing no reason to postpone the inevitable.

"As soon as possible." - replied his aunt - "I will unlock the cupboard and you can put your trunk there, just make sure Vernon doesn't see it. I'll say I needed the space and threw it out. I am also pretty sure there should be some things that belonged to Lily at the attic."

With that she left her nephew alone and went to try and talk some sense into her son.

_**(On with the Story)**_

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><p><strong>Chapter One.<strong>

**Secrets at the Attic (Part 1). **

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><p><span>[=Privet Drive, 4. Later that day=]<span>

Harry entered the attic and promptly sneezed.

"Okay, there really is a lot of dust here..." - he muttered and pulled his over-sized T-shirt over his nose. Then he made his way to the window and pushed it open. He was about to begin dusting, when Dobby the house-elf made his appearance with a soft crack:

"Dobby be bringing a letter from Harry Potter's Grangy, Harry Potter, sir!" - exclaimed the over-excited creature.

Harry stood there, staring dumbly at the elf and then he smiled widely:

"Thank you, Dobby. Could you, perhaps, help me clean the attic?"

The elf nodded:

"Dobby glad to help the great Harry Potter! What does Harry Potter sir needs to get done?"

_'Well, this will make things so much easier...'_ - thought Harry excitedly... and then recalled the letters he got last time Dobby used magic at Privet Drive:

"As you can see, I need the attic cleaned. But can this be done without the Ministry sending me owls about the underage use of magic?"

The elf answered promptly:

"Of course, Harry Potter, sir! But it be easier if Dobby was bonded to Harry Potter sir!"

Harry frowned at this. His first thought was to dismiss the idea and then it occurred to him, that he had no reason to decline, especially he didn't really know anything about house-elves and the reasons for them having to be bonded:

"Dobby, don't you like being free?" - he asked carefully.

The creature frowned slightly and gazed hopefully at Harry:

"Dobby likes being free more than serving the nasty master, but Dobby like being Harry Potter's elf more than being free."

Harry sighed at the reply. On one hand he liked Dobby and it would be handy having an elf, on the other he wasn't sure if this was the right thing to do, so he tried again:

"What does being bound to a wizard mean to a house-elf, Dobby? Is it necessary?"

Dobby nodded eagerly:

"Oh, yes. Without a Master house-elves die, Harry Potter sir. The stronger our Master, the more magic elves can use."

Harry stared at the small being for a few moments then spoke:

"Okay then, Dobby. I will accept you as my elf."

When he spoke, both he and Dobby were enveloped in a soft blue light for a moment and when it died out, the elf was wearing pants and a shirt instead of the pillow-case Harry was used to seeing him in.

"Oh, thank you, master Harry!" - gushed Dobby, smiling from ear to ear.

Potter watched amusedly as Dobby skipped around the attic, making clouds of dust go into the air.

"Dobby, would you clear out the dust, please?" - he asked.

This made the elf practically freeze mid-step and look at the cloud around him. With a look of righteous indignation, he snapped his fingers and it vanished, taking the rest of the dust with it. Harry gave him an appreciative nod and dropped the t-shirt from his nose. Now that the dust was gone, he was able to take a look at the things that were stashed at the attic.

"Wow..." - he muttered, as he realized just how many things there were there. It was quite likely that the Dursleys never threw anything away.

_'Now that Dobby became my house-elf, it should be much easier to live here. At least starving to death doesn't seem likely...'_ - thought the boy gleefully.

About an hour later the young Potter was admiring the work Dobby had done. The wooden floor was covered by a soft dark green carpet, while the walls remained wooden, but were magically polished. Dobby even changed the color of the wood. Some of the broken things were repaired, while the rest of the rubbish Harry put into large bags and brought them downstairs.

Just as Petunia told him, there were quite a lot of Lily's things there. They included his mother's two school trunks, one that apparently belonged to his father and another unnamed one, some magical portraits were also there, tapestries, journals and a large bowl with some vials with silver liquid in them. This was identified by Dobby as a Pensieve, a tool to view memories. This was truly a big discovery and the most interesting thing they've found thus far. The repaired wardrobe was placed next to a nice looking table that now stood next to the large window. There was also a computer on the table. It had once belonged to Dudley, of course, but when his whale of a cousin was given a new one, this one was put into the attic, since it was in working order. All in all it was a huge improvement over the room he had before. What's more, Dobby managed to create a door that would only be visible to Harry, one that led outside. Of course since it was practically the third store, they had to make a rope-ladder as well. Harry didn't exactly like it, since it wasn't very stable, but an invisible staircase would be totally impractical, as it would still be possible for someone to bump into it. This way he had his personal way out of the house and he liked it a lot.

Some time later he heard his aunt's shout of "Dinner's ready!" and went downstairs. It was a shock to him that Petunia didn't simply order him to make dinner, as Vernon usually did, but than again, he would not refuse dinner simply because it was unusual.

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><p>Dinner was certainly an interesting event. Mainly because of Dudley's whining about how he wanted thirds and aunt Petunia telling him that if he continued eating that much he would have trouble fitting through the doors. Personally Harry thought that the little whale already had trouble of that sort, but wisely kept his mouth shut, not wanting to provoke his aunt, especially since she was being decent to him. That evening he also found out that his aunt was actually a very good cook, though it was not as strange as the woman giving him seconds.<p>

Some time later a rather upset Dudley went back to his room to continue watching TV and it was then that Petunia finally got her chance to satisfy her curiosity:

"So then, how's the cleaning going?"

Harry paused for a moment and wondered if it was good idea to tell her about Dobby, and since Petunia already knew about magic figured telling her wouldn't cause a lot of harm:

"Oh I'm done already, though my house-elf, Dobby, was a great help."

This of course made Petunia ask just what a house-elf was and so Harry gave the woman a short explanation and was surprised that she reacted quite calmly to a magical creature in the house.

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> End of chapter one. Rather uneventful, I know, but the next one should be more interesting and hopefully longer, as I plan to go over the trunks and the various secrets and items Harry and Dobby found in the trunks that were gathering dust at the attic.

**Poll One:** I've been thinking about the James & Lily's wills. Would it be weird if Harry found a copy of them in one of the trunks?:

1. yes, no reason for things like that to be in a school trunk;

2. no, maybe Lily didn't trust Dumbledore and wanted to make sure his son knew just what exactly he inherited;

3. other answer (if so, please include reasoning for it to be one way or another.)

And most important part: Don't forget to **REVIEW! =) **


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Well, looks like I'm on a roll with this one. Lucky me =) Also thanks to those who reviewed the story.

**Warning:** will contain slash, though there most definitely WON'T be any mpreg; will surely have a healthy dose of Dumbledore bashing and some Molly, Ron and Ginny bashing.

**Summary:** Begins during summer after Harry's third year and contains spoilers for years 4 and 5, disregards books 6 and 7. Dark, but not evil, powerful, political Harry; adopted Hermione; extremely jealous Ron; self-confident Neville; fake prophecy, sane Voldemort, manipulative Dumbledore, nicer Petunia;

**Pairings:** Draco/Hermione; Blaise/Neville; Charlie/Tonks; Bill/Fleur; HP/? (though most likely slash); Sirius/Remus;

**Rating:** 'T' for now, will go up to 'M' in the later chapters for swearing, sex and violence =)

["blah" - normal speech;

_'blah'_ - thoughts;

::blah:: - mental communication;

**~blah~** - parseltongue;

**{**blah**}** - letters, howlers and so on;]

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER IN ANY SHAPE OR FORM! ... though I would certainly like to =)**

* * *

><p><strong><em>(previously on 'HP and the Grey Side of Magic') <em>**

Harry paused for a moment and wondered if it was good idea to tell her about Dobby, and since Petunia already knew about magic figured telling her wouldn't cause a lot of harm:

"Oh I'm done already, though my house-elf, Dobby, was a great help."

This of course made Petunia ask just what a house-elf was and so Harry gave the woman a short explanation and was surprised that she reacted quite calmly to a magical creature in the house.

**_(on with the story)_**

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><p><strong>Chapter Two.<strong>

**Secrets at the Attic (part 2).**

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><p>The next day Harry woke up around 10 am, which was incredibly late for him, as he was used to waking around 5 am and doing his morning chores, before cooking breakfast for the Dursleys. And now he had an opportunity to just enjoy the sensation of waking up gradually on his own and not having to rush somewhere and do something or the other. It was a rather pleasant feeling Harry discovered. A glance to the small table that was placed beside the bed showed that Dobby already came by, since breakfast with a warmth charm was waiting for him. It made the boy feel like a rich pampered child, though rationally he knew it was something that most people that were not abused by their relatives were used to such things. Another change that Dobby made overnight was the presence of a bathroom. It was quite large, actually much bigger that it seemed from the outside, so Harry figured that it was also magically enlarged. Having his own bathroom would also bring his interaction with the Dursleys to the barest minimum, which had the potential to make his life at Privet Drive much more bearable.<p>

While eating the food Dobby brought for him, Harry studied the things that were laid out along the opposite wall. Having spent three years in Hogwarts, Potter could very well tell a magical portrait from a muggle one and he was curious about why these pictures were here, though he figured this question could be easily answered by the inhabitants of said portraits. And so the portraits were left alone until a later time, while the boy-wonder focused his attention on the four trunks that were placed next to the bed fro easy access. The teen studied them carefully, all four were made of very fine wood and it was quite clear that the unnamed one was much older than those of his parents. Finally, after much deliberation, Harry opened his father's trunk first... and was slightly disappointed by what he found inside. There were quite nice clothes, which would be very useful, and several photo albums, which held great sentimental value, but that was it. Nothing to indicate what sort of person his father really was, which was the question Harry really wanted answered, since the things he knew so far contradicted themselves a lot. From what professor Lupin, Sirius and pretty much everyone else said, his father was a great man. But from the remarks Snape made all the time, Harry got a totally different picture and for some reason Harry felt that Snape was truthful, even though it hurt to think that.

Placing the clothes, and there was almost an entire wardrobe there, at the end of the bed, Harry put the albums on the bedside table and closed the now empty trunk and moved on to the two of his mother's.

"Okay, from the little facts that I know about Mom, this should be much more important than clothes and pictures..." - murmured Harry and flipped open the lid of the dark red trunk. The first difference was obvious at once - everything was sorted and placed in order. Books and notes in one compartment, the largest one, clothes ans shoes in another one and potions equipment in the last one. This was most certainly a school trunk and Harry smiled at how Hermione-like his mom seemed to be. The books and notes would definitely come in handy, he mused, as he looked through them. Once all the school books were out of the trunk, Harry noticed that there were also letters there, lots of letters, and journals, labeled in his Mom's neat handwriting.

_'Definitely more important than clothes and albums...'_ - thought the teen, as he placed the journals on the bedside table next to the Pensieve and his father's albums. Harry then gathered the letters and piled them on the bed. There were both letters to Lily and letters written by Lily as well, like his mother was collecting all of her correspondence, which was rather strange and Harry came to the conclusion that there had to be something important in some of those letters. Whatever it was, Harry knew he had to know it. In the next hour the boy sorted the letters. Letters to and from James, Remus & Sirius were in one stack, letters to and from Dumbledore in another and the other people like Alice Longbottom, Lily's parents, even Petunia and Severus Snape. The largest piles turned out to be those concerning Dumbledore and Snape, soon followed by the Marauders pack.

By the time Potter was done sorting the letters, Dobby showed up with lunch. Thanking the elf for the food, he ordered him to put up the portraits and move James' clothes to the wardrobe. After some thinking, he also asked Dobby to place muggle-repelling wards around the attic. Thus the Dursley family forget they ever had an attic and would not bother him, unless of course he chose to go downstairs, which was not part of Harry's plans for the summer.

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><p><strong>[next evening, Granger residence]<strong>

While Harry was busy going through his mother's things, Hermione Granger was also having the strangest summer ever. Her rational mind helped her get through the shock of the discovery she made recently, but she was not coping well. Thus, the young witch decided that writing to Harry would be the best course of action, since her fellow Gryffindor was much more rational than Ron and would be able to offer her some sound advice.

**{**Dear Harry,**}** - she wrote and paused. How on Earth was she going to explain everything in a way that would not give away the secret to anyone should the letter be intercepted. But then again was she patient enough to try and think of a code that Harry would understand? She was not, she decided and with another heavy sigh the bushy-haired girl went back to her letter.

**{**This summer has become the weirdest one I've had so far and I find myself in need of an understanding ear. The thing I found out recently came out as a huge shock and I have close to no idea how to deal with it.

Last week my parents went to visit some relatives and was busy with our potions essay, so I stayed at home. Once I was finished, I went to dad's study to find myself a book to read. I was a bit clumsy, since usually the room is off limits and I accidentally dropped one of the larger I picked it up, I found documents hidden in the book. I can safely say I never expected to find out something like this... Imagine this - I was adopted! Of course it may not be that big of a deal, but still... What if my ral parents were magical? Ever since then this question refused to leave my mind and so I decided to confide in you, hoping you will be able to figure out what to do next. Should I confront them about what I know? Or would it be better to concentrate on finding a way to discover who I really am?

I hope the muggles are treating you decently. Please, write back as soon as you can and if there is anything you need, don't hesitate to ask.

Your friend,  
><span>Hermione.<span>**}**

Reading the letter once more to make sure that it was written without mistakes, Hermione put it into and envelope and paused. She did not own an owl and going to Diagon Alley right now was not convenient. This was not something she considered before writing the letter and Hermione really disliked being unprepared like this. A few minutes were spent frowning at the envelope, before it hit her - she could ask Dobby for help. Of course, exploiting the house-elf didn't sit well with the girl, but the matter was an important one and the young witch decided that it would be worth it.

Hoping she would not wake up the little creature, she softly called out: "Dobby!" There was a soft 'pop' and the creature appeared in Hermione's room.

"Dobby be glad to seeing Ms Gragee! What can Dobby do for Ms Grangee?" - he asked, bouncing on his feet.

To the witch's surprise, Dobby was wearing what seemed like a uniform, instead of the pillow case she became familiar with last year.

"Dobby, it's nice to see you too." - she gave the elf a soft smile - "I need to send Harry a letter, but I do not have an owl. So I was wondering, if you would mind giving it to him?"

The house-elf nodded eagerly, making his huge ears flap around, giving Hermione a vague impression of a dog:

"Yes, Ms Grangee. Dobby be taking the letter to Master Potter now."

The girl opened her mouth to thank the creature, but Dobby already vanished into thin air along with her letter.

"Well... at the very least I know it will get to Harry safely..." - murmured Hermione going out onto the balcony.

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><p><strong>[Some time later, Privet Drive, the attic.]<strong>

Harry was busy inspecting the unnamed trunk, when Dobby came back. At first Harry thought it was time for supper, since it was rather dark outside, but then he noticed an envelope in the elf's hands. Dobby gave his master a wide smile:

"Dobby be bringing Master Harry a letter from his Grangee."

Harry smiled back and took the envelope:

"Thanks Dobby, I appreciate this."

With that he focused on the missive in his hands, wondering what was so important, since usually Hermione wrote once every two weeks and he received the last one a week before. The letter quite short and to the point, but Harry could feel that she really had to talk to someone and with what he's just found himself in his mother's second trunk, he felt he could use Hermione's ear as well. So Harry grabbed an empty piece of parchment and quickly scribbled a reply.

**[**Hermione, 

Nice to hear from you so soon. As to your discovery... well, I really don't know what to say... Perhaps we could meet in Diagon tomorrow? Or I could come and pick you up if you don't want your parents to know that something is up. I actually have made some rather disturbing revelations myself and could use your help deciding what to do as well.

Hope to see you soon,  
><span>Harry P.<span>**]**

Nodding in satisfaction, Potter went to Hedwig's cage and gave the owl the letter with a strict order to wait for Hermione's reply.

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> And that's where it ends for now. People, make sure you don't forget to **REVIEW !** =)


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